Know Yourself

Alex Carberry

Self Quest

Copyright
Know Yourself Alexander Carberry 2011 First Edition published by Bahr Press & Self Quest. Published by: Bahr Press & Self Quest The Old Bowling Green, 75 A Rose Hill Street, Derby, Derbyshire, DE23 8FZ, United Kingdom Website: www.bahrpress.com www.selfquest.co.uk Email: sales@bahrpress.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publishers. Written by: Alexander Carberry General Editor: Uthman Ibrahim Morrison Cover photograph: Baraka Carberry 2010 Cover Design: Khadijah Carberry A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library. ISBN-13: 978-0-9564513-1-6

About the Author

Alex Carberry was born in London, England. He was raised in Guyana South America on the edge of the Amazon. He returned to the United Kingdom to study but after meeting with a Su teacher chose instead to embark upon the suc path. He has since spent over 20 years studying Susm, philosophy, natural medicine, geopolitics and Daoist martial arts. He currently resides in Derby, England.

Contents
Acknowledgements 1 Introduction 9

Work With Your Self Not Against It 9

Discover Your True Self Who should read this book? What else will you gain? How to read this book Welcome to the journey 9 11 12 12 15

Chapter One

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The Four Personality Types 19

Overview 19

Spring

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20 20 21

The Nature of Spring What Happens in Spring The Spring Element Air The Spring Personality Type Sanguine 21

Summer

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22 22 23

The Nature of Summer What Happens in Summer The Summer Element Fire The Summer Personality Type Choleric 23

Autumn

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24 24

The Nature of Autumn What Happens in Autumn

The Autumn Element - Earth The Autumn Personality Type

25 25

Winter

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26 26 26 27

The Nature of Winter What Happens in Winter The Winter Element - Water The Winter Personality Type

The Three Ways to be Each Personality Type 28 Inherent or True Natures The Human Struggle The Way of Harmony 29 30 30

Chapter Two Sanguines: Spring & Air

Overview 33

33 33

Spot a Sanguine 34

The Sanguine Impulse Sanguine Communication The Sanguine Nature The Sanguines Strengths The Sanguines Weaknesses

34 36 36 38 40

Chapter Three Cholerics: Summer & Fire

Overview 45

45 45

Spot a Choleric 45 The Choleric Impulse Choleric Communication The Choleric Nature The Cholerics Strengths The Cholerics Weaknesses 47 49 49 52 54

Chapter Four

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Melancholics: Autumn & Earth 59

Spot a Melancholic The Melancholic Impulse Melancholic Communication The Melancholic Nature The Melancholics Strengths 59 60 61 63 64

The Melancholics Weaknesses 66

Chapter Five

71

Phlegmatics: Winter & Water 71

Overview 71 71 73 76 77 79

Spot a Phlegmatic The Phlegmatic Impulse Phlegmatic Communication The Phlegmatic Nature The Phlegmatics Strengths

The Phlegmatics Weaknesses 80

Chapter Six Surrender 85

85

So which one are you? The lessons you have learnt

85 86

Introduction
Work With Your Self Not Against It

Discover Your True Self There are only four basic ways that people are. You may nd this hard to believe, but at least seven ancient civilisations agree with this, and in our time psychologists have increasingly been rediscovering this ancient view. I am not going to argue the case for the validity of this view, because my proof is that I have used this knowledge for over fteen years, and it works. Of course, my fteen years is only a drop in the ocean of
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the many millennia that mankind has beneted from this deep and powerful way of seeing the world. T h i s b o o k e x p l o re s t h i s p owe r f u l knowledge so that you may discover which personality type you are. Discovering your own personality type will help you to recognise the personality types of those around you. By understanding yourself, you will understand others. By discovering your personality type you will have an opportunity to begin the journey to discover your true self and accept your own harmony with the Universe. This will also encourage you to work with the way that you naturally are, rather than against yourself. Other things share your characteristics and you will allow them to be your teachers. You will begin to read the book of 'existence' or 'nature', in a

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way that will open you up to deep insights. This book can help you to open the door to this profound knowledge, but once it is opened, everything that you see and learn belongs to you, not to the writer. Who should read this book? Read this book if you wish to nd your true nature and deep inner balance. Many selfhelp books are complicated and seem to work against the way that you really are, this book does not do this. This book will provide you with a doorway to discover your true nature and you will be able to use this to work with your greatest asset which is yourself. You will be able to avoid much conict with others by understanding the way that others really are. If you wish to be free to be who you are and to leave others free to be who they are, then this book is for you. However, if you would like to continue the impossible task of
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attempting to make things what they are not, then this book is denitely not for you. What else will you gain? You will begin the journey to mastering the four fundamental principles that govern the nature and behavior of everything in the Universe. As a result you will be more assured and condent, for you can trust yourself and everything else to be as they are. You will be certain why you have the tendency to be as you are and why others are as they are. How to read this book Go through the contents pages, and as you go, stop and take a quick look at anything that strikes your attention. This will stimulate your interest, provide you with an overview of the structure of the book, as well as encourage you to read it. It may also

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be helpful to read the book quickly once through. Things are easier to understand and remember if they are in context. After reading through once, return to the parts that you feel necessary to re-read and reect on. Discuss some of the concepts with those around you. One of the easiest ways to learn and remember is to share what you know. Question those who have known you for a long time about the way that they see you. Observe carefully the way you and others do things. Remember, you do not have to like something for it to be true. Some truths are bitter to begin with but that is their sweetness, for things can only be what they are and the energy we spend in trying to make them what they are not, is energy wasted.

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introduction

You will discover much about yourself that you like and much that you do not. What we are working towards is not liking what we see, but surrendering to the truth or reality of things as they are. Redness does not change because we may dislike it! We may change the shade, tone and hue of red but redness always remains redness. Our fundamental nature is analogous to a colouring in this respect. So, read the book, make your observations and once they become truly clear to you, accept them. Remember, the stories that we tell ourselves about ourselves and about everything else, are just stories; the way things really are transcends our stories. Over time our dislike and resistance to the way things are will change to acceptance and we will be free to work with what is there, rather than attempting to maintain an illusion. Over time and with practice our

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need to persist with our stories in the face of reality diminishes. Welcome to the journey If you have got this far then welcome. Let us make the journey to discover ourselves. I hope you will be even more amazed and excited about the discoveries than I was and continue to be. It is truly a great gift to have life, knowledge and to be truly human. The entire Universe is dynamic, it is always changing. People are being born and others are dying, leaves fall and others grow, rain falls and water evaporates, days come and nights fall. The creation is constantly being created and destroyed. It means that our journey to self discovery becomes a process of transformation as we discover what is, and what is not, changeless about ourselves.

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I have spent 15 to 20 years of my life traveling, studying and learning the ways in which the Sus understand the universe. My journey has been difcult but in this book I am sharing in a simple way, my hard earned study of the deep and powerful insights that these little known masters have rened for over four teen hundred years. This knowledge is powerful, simple and profound. If I had not been blessed with the company and teaching of those Su masters then it would have all passed me by. This is a knowledge that is taught to the learned practitioner as well as the illiterate wayfarer. We can all grasp and use this powerful way of seeing the universe and ourselves as part of it. Alex Carberry

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Chapter One
e Four Personality Types
Overview There are four seasons, which are the four states through which our world passes throughout the course of a year. These four states are mirrored in everything in our world including ourselves. This is the key to simply grasping the four personality types. Each things fundamental nature is in harmony with a season Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter and each season is in harmony with an Element Air, Fire, Earth and Water. This deep harmony allows us to
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Chapter One e Four Personality Types

see into the nature of ourselves and everything around us and to understand the phases through which things pass. This way of seeing is called ikma (Arabic) Wisdom.

Spring

e Nature of Spring Spring is hot and wet. At the beginning of spring the cold of winter begins to disappear and it becomes progressively hotter. The wetness of winter remains in this season, reducing as it moves into summer. Warm temperatures and wetness are the characteristics of this season. What Happens in Spring In spring plants burst into activity and the animals that hibernated in the winter

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become active and vigorous. It is a season of expansion and everything seeks movement, fullness and expression. It is a season of growth and becoming. In this season things seek growth, movement and expression. This is the season of birth and rebirth and of sowing seeds and preparing ground. e Spring Element Air In spring the Element of Air dominates. Air or Wind is of the same hot and wet nature as spring. Air seeks height and dispersion; it expands and seeks the highest points. By its activity Air, like Water, spreads evenly lling each space. By reecting upon spring we may understand Air and by understanding Air we may understand the nature of spring. e Spring Personality Type Sanguine The personality type in harmony with spring and Air is called Sanguine.

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Summer

e Nature of Summer Summer is hot and dry. In summer the heat of spring intensies and the wet of spring is replaced by the dry of summer, for in summer dryness dominates. What Happens in Summer The hotness and dryness of summer brings things to their ripening and fullness. Fruits ripen and are harvested in summer. This demands the action of reaping the fruits. In the summer fruition is reached and decay begins. It is the highpoint of the cycle and is the season of movement, activity and gathering.

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e Summer Element Fire The Element of Summer is Fire. Fire seeks height and movement, it is gathered and focused. It always moves up and gathers, it needs fuel and is in danger of exhausting its supply. By reecting upon Fire, we may understand summer and by reecting upon summer we may understand Fire. e Summer Personality Type Choleric The personality type in harmony with summer and Fire is called Choleric.

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Autumn

e Nature of Autumn Autumn is cold and dry. In it the heat of summer fades and it becomes cold. The dryness of summer also fades as it moves towards the wetness of winter. However, the general nature of this season is dryness. What Happens in Autumn It is a time of the gathering of the late fruits and preparation for the cold stillness of winter. It is a time of preparation and movement towards stillness. Thinking, planning and long term preparation are natural in it, for the seeds that will be born in spring must be planted. It is the season of storing, planning, preparation for winter and relative stillness and thinking.

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e Autumn Element - Earth The Element that dominates is Earth. Earth seeks stillness and gathers, it is heavy and gives form. It gives structure to things that persist and provides the environment for the growth and the lives of things. By reecting upon Earth, we grasp the nature of autumn and by reecting upon the nature of autumn we grasp the nature of Earth. e Autumn Personality Type The personality type in harmony with autumn and Earth is called Melancholic.

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Winter

e Nature of Winter Winter is cold and wet. Cold temperatures, stillness and wetness are its nature. What Happens in Winter In it animals hibernate and rivers renew themselves as water condenses in the mountains as rain or snow. It is a season of contraction. Things in the environment seek a low point and do not expend much energy. It is the season of withdrawal and reection, inaction, conservation and renewal. e Winter Element - Water I n w i n t e r Wa t e r d o m i n a t e s a n d characteristically Water is cold and wet. Water always gathers at the lowest points

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and levels out. Water does not ow uphill it always ows downhill. By reecting upon and understanding winter we may understand Water. By reecting upon and understanding Water we may grasp the nature of winter. e Winter Personality Type The personality type in harmony with winter and Water is called Phlegmatic.

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Chapter One e Four Personality Types

e ree Ways to be Each Personality Type As three months are contained within each season there are three other ways for each of the personality types to be expressed. There are only four basic personality types but because the Elements combine, there are three appearances for each personality type. This gives three additional ways to be. This is, however, beyond the scope of this book. It is only mentioned because you may nd that you are not purely one personality type. If this is the case dont worry, you are like most of mankind. One Element will dominate in you and this is the base from which the other Elements express themselves. The purpose of this book is to help you discover that base.

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Inherent or True Natures Have you ever seen apples grow on a plum tree? The idea is an absurd one. Plum trees only every grow plums and apple trees only ever grow apples. When we choose building materials for a house we apply the same principles naturally. If we have sand we must recognise the true nature of sand. We cannot force sand to behave like stone, it simply will not happen. If we pretend that sand is stone the building will collapse. What we must recognise is that the sand is sand. If we wish to build with sand we must combine it with other things, to make a combined material such as cement or adobe. Only then can we build the house. Things are what they are we must recognise their true natures and work with them.

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e Human Struggle As human beings we can choose to ght and struggle against our true natures or submit to them. This is just the way we are made. We must consciously make the effort to journey from our wishes and the way our societies shape us, to return to harmony with our true natures. When we were babies we did not have a choice, we could only be what and who we were. However, as we get older the stories we tell ourselves about our place in the world become more complex. The more complex these stories become, the more we tend to travel away from our true natures. We may nd ourselves trapped in the prison of our stories, oppressing ourselves and others. e Way of Harmony Using things according to their true natures frees us from the insanity of trying to do

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o t h e r w i s e . H o w e v e r, i t r e q u i r e s determination and study to recognise this. The way of harmony is study and renement. Seeking this deep harmony frees us to be ourselves and stops us forcing others to be what they are not. You may be calling yourself a failure, not understanding why you must always keep doing things or perhaps why you are always changing direction and the things you do. I promise you that in the next part of the book you will discover why and how this happens. Then, having accepted what you are, you will be free to journey on, seeking to make the changes and renements that are in harmony with your true nature.

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